Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC.
A really good gothic novel, I finished this book in a day, giving myself a headache...it was worth it!
Taking place in the present as well as 1947, the main character in the story is a mansion, Winterbourne, built in the 1800's in Cornwall.
The De Grey family seems to be cursed, causing 2 suicides, an the incarceration of a governess in a mental hospital, all the while haunting the people who live in Winterbourne. It also features beautiful twins, although they are quite creepy and seem determined to drive the servants mad. A distant relative inherits the mansion and decides this is the place where she can discover her past.
It's quite an unnerving read, full of foreboding, which is why I couldn't stop reading! Towards the end, as the truth is unveiled, I felt teary and the last chapters gave me chills. A very good story which I recommend.

First gripping sentence:

𝑳𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏! 𝑪𝒂𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒊𝒕?

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳 by Rebecca James is an unnerving gothic tale with an insidious creepy atmosphere that drew me in to the book very quickly.

A dark tale told in several narrative’s, past and present, it centers around the Winterbourne mansion and those that lived there. In 1947, Alice Miller takes a governess position for Captain De Grey, looking after his twins. Winterbourne seems to feed on the grief and loneliness of its inhabitants, causing problems and a scandal for Alice who left under mysterious circumstances. Rachel, an orphan, inherits Winterbourne in present day and feels the echo of the women past and is drawn in to the mystery of Alice as she searches for answers about her mother and why she gave her up for adoption.

This is a haunting tale, reminiscent of some of the Gothic classics and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It has all the ear-marks of what I look for in a good book; red-herrings that keep me guessing and characters that are flawed and sometimes unlikable. The ending gives satisfaction and surprise. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳 is a fantastic read for any fan of the genre.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martins Press, and Minotaur Books for providing me with this galley to read and review!

I like to enjoy a good gothic book every now and again. This one caught my eye because of the cover as I love anything near the sea. It makes for a perfect setting. The synopsis was also quite intriguing with the two different times brought into one plot. I did keep my expectations on the lower end for this one because I wasn't sure how it would play out. For the most part it was decent but I did have a couple issues.

As I mentioned in the first paragraph, there is two different timelines going on throughout the book. We are first introduced Alice Miller. She seems like a fine and put together young woman but as the plot progresses, there is a lot of things she starts to feel, see, and keep a secret. Her character reminded me a lot of the Governess from The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. It was interesting to see her development into the madness but it still similar to what I have read before.

As for Rachel, she was drawn to the place because of her last living relative at the estate passing away. She is very quick to live her life in New York behind and unlock the truth of her past. As they say, curiosity kills the cat. She obviously doesn't die but nothing does go the way she wants it to. I definitely would not have dwelled there like she did. No thank you!

The plot, was fine. It was a bit slow in the beginning and bits and pieces were like other things I have read before. It wasn't creepy or spooky and I am a certified chicken. There was only one plot twist that really surprised me and seemed to fly out of nowhere. The ending was pretty much what I imagined, which was okay.

Overall, it was fine but not quite memorable.

I loved this book! Reminded me of Rebecca by Daphne DuMarnier. Finished it in two days, I didn't want it to end. And what a ending it was. Did not see that coming.

Truly a supernatural and gothic novel that had me turning on the lights at night. The book takes place in 1946 and present day both at Winterbourne, a remote mansion set alone on a cliff over the sea. The DeGray family has owned it forever, but something bad always curses the women in the house. Spooky, page turning, read with the lights on satisfying read.

Engrossing gothic story alternating between different time periods--but centered on the cursed women of Winterbourne. There were parts that didn't make a whole lot of sense but it was a enjoyably creepy story.

I’m sure others will really enjoy this book, but I’m just not a huge fan of period pieces. I appreciate the opportunity to give this book a read and review.

A good Gothic read

This was truly a gothic novel. The huge overpowering house on the Cornish Bluff "Winterbourne" sits in the shadows keeping its secrets hidden inside.

The story goes from the governess Alice Miller in 1947 to Rachel in present days. Rachel grew up adopted and always wondered about her beginnings and her birth mother.

One day after she has grown and is on her own with her own Art Gallery, a letter comes informing her that she has been left a property called "Winterbourne" by a Constance De Grey to whom she was related but had never known existed.

Rachel travels from New York to England to visit the property hoping to find out about her ancestry and her connection to the De Grays’.

The story has suspense, a bit of terror, and a curse. The characters are well written and very well described from Captain Jonathan De Grey, Alice Miller, the twins Constance and Edmond, Rachel, Jack and Aaron.

Rachel uncovers not only the Witch of Winterbourne, but all that happened to her relatives from the beginning of Winterbourne. She suffers the spookiness of the huge house and has to choose between Aaron and Jack until she almost loses her life at the hands of one and is rescued by the other.

When she threw the mirror in the sea she thought she had rid herself and Winterbourne of the curse, but did she really?

It was a good book to read, I did get lost a few times in the different time changes and sometimes wondered in which time period I was reading. I would recommend the book to anyone that likes Gothic suspense novels.

Thanks to Rebecca James, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of the book.

Excellent gothic mystery with some gorgeous writing throughout, wonderful scenery, and beautiful sense of time and place.

This was a new author for me and This was a great book! It held my attention and I couldn't put it down, kept me awake at night because I just wanted to keep reading! It was an easy to follow along story and contained good easy to follow characters. I highly recommend this to anyone and can't wait to read more by this author. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review this.

Hauntingly beautiful....

When Rachel inherits a home in England, she is not sure what to think. She has often wondered about her family, and the elusive house seems to hold more mysteries than answers. As Rachel travels to England to learn more about her family and past, she is swept into the harsh past and the dangers that the house holds, but there seems to be more lurking than just unanswered questions...

Pros:
What a beautiful story! I sat and read this in one sitting, and could not put it down! Alice, Laura, Rachel - their stories intertwine, and yet there is one piece that everyone seems to overlook! Oh my! A great read! Get this one on your to read list now!

Cons:
There were several unanswered questions. Who was talking to the twins? Why did they act they way they did? These were just a few of the questions that I had over the book - there seemed to be some major drops.